Upon reading the article in Wednesday’s Breeze regarding the Hawthorne individual who (allegedly) beat, kicked and hung his pit bull, I didn’t think my blood could boil any hotter. However, my blood ran white-hot upon reading the article in Thursday’s paper wherein the case was sent back to the police for more “evidence.”

How much more evidence does the D.A. need other than a video of the beatings and hanging, along with an eyewitness! Does an animal have to be maimed or half-dead from its injuries before animal cruelty charges can be filed? Is hanging by a choke chain after being kicked and punched not cruel enough? This dog has obviously suffered tremendously at the hands of her “owner” and I would seriously doubt this is the only instance of cruelty she has suffered.

I certainly trust the D.A. gets its act together and presses charges with the full weight of the law. I also trust that poor dog will not be relinquished back to Mr. Plascenia. The dog has suffered enough and deserves to be with someone who will love her and treat her with kindness.

Let’s not allow this case to set a precedent that it is OK to treat animals in such a manner. We have come along way from that train of thought. Let’s move forward, not back to the dark ages.

– Susan Robinson

Lomita

Current treasurer backs Cortez

The Daily Breeze editorial supporting Steve Groom for Torrance city treasurer is a concern for me. It seems the support was based on the alleged ability of Groom to earn a higher rate of return on Torrance’s portfolio.

Almost 18 years ago the city of Torrance experienced a significant loss of around $6million. Shortly after the loss, I was elected city treasurer. It was my goal in concert with the City Council and manager to put procedures and policies in place to protect city assets. Therefore, our investment policy is more restrictive than the allowable investments outlined in the state of California Government Code Section 53601.

I may be criticized for being too conservative on investment decisions and strategies, but I can honestly say it has protected the asset base of our great city for all these years.

We have not lost any principal during my 17 years as treasurer and the investment portfolio has grown from $63 million to a current balance of $167 million.

Steve Groom has experienced a loss of principal for the Beach Cities Health District of $500,000. It might be argued that it isn’t a significant amount, but any loss in a downsizing economy is a hardship on the bottom line.

If the city had lost an equal percent of its portfolio, it would have taken a $2.5 million hit. The additional interest of $1.15 million that Groom has touted that he could have made for the city would have been wiped out by the loss.

Groom and I can agree to disagree as to the philosophical approach to investments. However, I would prefer to elect a treasurer that knows and understands the importance of safeguarding our asset base, understands the importance of managing cash flow to pay the bills, and still maintains a rate of return that has consistently outperformed our benchmark by over 1 percent.

For that reason, I support Dana Cortez; she has the best interest of the city of Torrance in mind and it is in the best interest of the city to elect her.

– Linda Barnett

Torrance

Commuter trains aren’t needed

Several years ago Redondo Beach had a negative connotation. You were patted on the back if you lived in Manhattan Beach, a little tap if you lived in Hermosa Beach, but Redondo Beach? Heavens, not there. Now we get praises and envious looks when we say we live in Redondo Beach. The MTA will change all this. I am a resident of Breakwater Village, a 55-plus community. Our rear windows and sliding glass doors face the railroad tracks. We are not bothered by the few times the trains pass. We even wave to the conductor and the trains are relatively quiet.

However, we are extremely upset by what we heard at the public meeting in Lawndale on May 1. The MTA has announced that we are getting commuter trains alongside these freight train tracks. We will be subject to continuous noise and increased crime, pollution from the many trains going back and forth and absolutely no privacy (that is why we chose to have our backyards facing the snow-capped mountains). We would be unable to have windows and sliding glass doors open at any time. Commuters would constantly be peeking into our homes and more transients would be sleeping by the tracks (we have some now).

Besides the discomfort, the traffic congestion would be gridlock. Can you imagine fire trucks and ambulances trying to get to our homes? We are getting additional department stores in our area and that will cause massive traffic jams.

There is an alternative to this disastrous situation. We can opt for a better transport system, i.e. buses. Our buses are practically empty and almost nonexistent.